Pottery Barn Kids DIY Knockoff Oar Decor

I love me a good knockoff project… and today I’m here to give you the 411 on this Pottery Barn Kids DIY Knockoff Oar Decor. A great addition to our sons’ nautical feeling bedroom revamp; I love how they turned out.

Do you get oars and paddles mixed up?

Well, if not, you have me beat. I had to look it up.

A little lesson in semantics: Oars are designed to be held to the boat in an oarlock (and usually have a thicker rounder handle), while paddles are designed to be held and supported by the paddler’s hands (source).

So I guess that even though this is PB Kids DIY Knockoff Oar Décor, what I actually painted are paddles.

The Pottery Barn Kids Paddles are listed for $39 US and $54 in Canada – I bought my clear lacquered wooden oars at a local big box store for $16 each. I already owned the primer, paint (it is the same wall paint I used for the stripes in the boys’ room), the painters tape (also left over from my wall striping project), and the paint brush so I didn’t have to spend any additional money above the cost of the paddles.

Steps:

I started by painting my paddles with a coat of primer, front and back, and let it dry as per instructions. I then gave them two coats of leftover white latex wall paint (the same as I used for the boys’ DIY Plank Wall).

Once the paint had dried for 24 hours I taped off the stripes using frog tape for delicate surfaces – as well as one thin strip of green painters tape for the thin stripe. Make sure to press the tape down firmly on the edges so that the paint doesn’t leak through.

Last step: just paint your chosen colour on the parts of the paddle left untapped. I did three coats of each colour. Once dry I peeled the tape and then touched it up with white in the few little spots where the paint snuck under the tape.

Done!

I love how they look against the boys’ new DIY Plank Wall– and they fit perfectly above their crate/laundry basket.

I painted these in yellow and red because my little guy claims to prefer yellow while the older one loves red – I used these two different colors to make their beds a little different from one another’s too.

On Friday I will be back to share a little more about that crate and some of the other trash to treasure finds I’ve used to decorate their room.

Do you have any tips for painting perfect stripes? I find that frog tape works really well but I always get a few little sneaky leaky bits…. I’d love to hear your advice and experiences!

Thanks for reading. And remember my housie friends, HOME isn’t built in a day. Enjoy the journey!

This project was featured at!

I may link up at some of these fabulous places below, for more info check out housie parties:

Hi Cheryl! Yes- the base coat was already there, then I taped off the stripes and painted the second colour over top. When I removed the tape it left the original white revealed! Good luck with your project:)

Hello! I bought mine at “Canadian Tire” – they sell everything from kitchen supplies to tools to sporting gear. I have even seen basic paddles at Walmart though, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find one (fingers crossed!).

Lol- I had to wiki it a few times to get it into my head… not sure if it stuck. But I know oars are for row boats and paddles are for canoes/kayaks so I try to just think about that! Thanks for your visit Alexis!!

You did an amazing job on this craft! I love a Pottery Barn knockoff any day of the week. I’ve seen these paddles in Pottery Barn, I’m obsessed with it! I’ve seen your other post with pictures of the rest of the room and it looks great!! You have a great site with awesome clever idea! Make sure to like your page, looking forward to following you!

SO cute! Love these. I’ve been looking at vintage old looking oars (maybe they are paddles, LOL!) lately, I like that we have similar tastes in things! It would be fun to go shopping with you. 🙂 Sharon

Awesome project idea for a lot less!! I love Pottery Barn but the prices on their items is ridiculous!! It’s great when you take something and make it for a lot less!! 🙂 Thanks for sharing stopping by from the Hit Me with your Best Shot Linky Party to say HI!! 🙂